Changes at MDI junction will be made permanent

Stating that the ongoing traffic trial at MDI Chowk has been a success, officials of the district administration said on Friday that changes introduced at the junction as part of the traffic trial will be made permanent next week. A meeting in this regard will be held with all stakeholders—the traffic police, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and Gurugram Vision Zero (GVZ) on Monday.

The Gurugram Vision Zero is a road safety program of the district administration.

On June 8, a traffic trial was introduced at the junction as part of which jersey barriers blocking vehicular movement from two directions were removed and traffic signals were introduced at all four directions of the intersection. In addition, traffic cones and jersey barriers were also placed in a manner that they helped create makeshift refuge islands and compacted the width of the carriageways. Zebra crossings were painted and medians were extended as part of the trial.

“The traffic trail at MDI Chowk trial has borne positive results. The changes introduced as part of the traffic trial will soon be made permanent, a meeting will take place next week in this regard. We are looking to take up more such junctions and stretches in the city and make commuting easier and safer for all road users,” said deputy commissioner of Gurugram Nishant Kumar Yadav.

In September 2018, the traffic police blocked traffic movement from two directions with the help of jersey barriers to make the junction a signal-free crossing. This, however, led to rampant wrong-side driving and later added to the congestion.

The jersey barriers blocked vehicles from heading straight from Iffco Chowk towards Fountain Chowk, and those turning right from Atul Kataria Chowk towards Fountain Chowk. Commuters driving from these two directions had to take a U-turn from Signature Chowk, located over a kilometre away, for heading towards Fountain Chowk.

“The change in the flow of traffic movement, as well as rampant wrong side driving, indicated that the changes introduced in 2018 were no longer yielding the desired results. After reverting to the original pattern of traffic movement, more changes were introduced such as pedestrian islands, medians, and constricting the width of carriageways. The trial will be in place until the changes are made permanent,” said Ravinder Singh Tomar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gurugram.

GVZ officials said once the changes are made permanent, it will help streamline vehicular movement and safeguard pedestrians.

“One of the biggest outcomes of the changes that will be made permanent will be the realignment of traffic signals. Once this is done, the dispersal of vehicles would be much faster than and crossing the stretch will also become easier and safer for pedestrians,” said Ishan Gogoi, a senior research associate at GVZ.

Gogoi said the traffic signals have been installed at an adequate distance from the centre of the intersection, as a result of which vehicles stop much earlier.

“When the signal is moved to the centre of the intersection, the medians will also be extended on all four sides. The vehicles, as a result, will stop much closer to the centre of the junction. This will reduce travelling time by at least six seconds in one direction and also reduce the time and distance pedestrians need for crossing the intersection,” said Gogoi.